Meredith Corp. eyes in-app rewards to monetize mobile

Campbells, Procter & Gamble and Unilever are a few big consumer packaged goods brands that are rolling out in-application rewards to Meredith Corp.s apps to help the publisher push repeat usage.

The lifestyle publishing brand will incorporate Kiips SDK into the Allrecipes DinnerSpinner and the Better Homes and Garden Must-Have-Recipes apps. The rewards pop up randomly within Merediths apps and will be triggered by actions that consumers take, such as sharing a recipe through social media or creating a shopping list.

Allrecipes DinnerSpinner and Better Home and Garden's Must-Have-Recipes apps are focused on engaging and social experiences with food and recipes, said Alysia Borsa, vice president of tablet and product development at Meredith, Des Moines, IA.

These apps are used heavily  there are a combined 20 million-plus downloads for these two apps and high levels of engagement, she said. We believe that providing compelling rewards to our consumer will be extremely valuable to her and therefore continue to drive engagement.

Moreover, the in-app rewards are meant to complement actions that consumers are already performing.

Research from Allrecipes finds that recipes, coupons and savings were the top reasons why consumers add items to a shopping list.

With consumers turning to their mobile devices more to access recipe content before shopping and in stores, CPG brands are increasingly looking to target consumers with messages at the exact moment that a brand is top of mind, such as when a recipe with a particular ingredient is bookmarked.

The Allrecipes DinnerSpinner app is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices. Better Homes and Gardens Must-Have-Recipes app can be downloaded for free on Android and iOS handsets.

DinnerSpinner claims to have been downloaded more than 16 million times, and Must-Have Recipes boasts 4.7 million downloads through January 2013.

An ad with a Quaker mobile coupon

Mobilizing printMeredith has tested a number of mobile tactics to monetize content and increase readership.

Most recently, All Recipes supported the launch of a print magazine with augmented reality in its February/March issue (see story).

Meredith also rolled out a branded augmented reality app for the June/July 2013 issues of Parents, American Baby, FamilyFun and Ser Padres magazines.

In June 2012, the publisher rolled out digital versions of eight of its publications to Google Play (see story).

Big name publishers have already hit a tipping point with mobile representing the majority of traffic, but monetizing this growth continues to be a challenge for most.

In-app rewards are one way that publishers are tackling monetization with ads beyond the typical static banners.

They are using the apps to get inspired, plan and then shop in-store, she said. We believe that providing relevant and compelling offers to her based on her engagement is a natural extension of what the apps provide her today."

Final TakeLauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York

Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer. Reach her at lauren@mobilemarketer.com.